Loss
by Inspiration-Is-Hard-To-Come-By
Summary: When Steve gets some rough news, he also is given a serious reminder that he is never really alone.


It's been a calming evening, everyone sitting together in the main room, Wanda leaning casually against Steve's arm, Natasha sitting between Bruce and Clint, Tony and Thor going back and forth over the pros and cons of medieval warfare. Everything feels peaceful. Steve is reading _Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry_ over Wanda's shoulder when he feels his cell phone vibrate. He gets up and steps into the hallway, and without recognizing the number, picks up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hello Sir, am I speaking to Steve Rodgers?" Asks a woman with a soft voice.

"Yes Ma'am," he says hesitantly.

"I have some news regarding a Ms... Margaret Carter."

Immediately, his heart starts beating faster and fear grabs hold of his chest, "What about her?"

"Sir I'm sorry to tell you that Ms. Carter passed away earlier today."

Something punches him in the gut, "W-what?"

"Are you alright, Sir?"

He almost drops the phone before hanging up and stumbling down the hallway to his room. The pain overcoming him, he falls onto the bed, trembling. That doesn't make any sense. How could she be dead? That's not right. This isn't right. Peggy... Peggy can't be gone. And slowly the tears begin to come and roll down his cheeks. His whole body shakes as they fall.

After a few minutes of Steve being gone, Clint shoots a look at Natasha, who just shrugs. Next he turns to Wanda, saying, "Do you know what's going on?"

She shakes her head, "No, but he seemed very upset."

"I think I'm gonna go poke my head in... just to make sure." He says, standing and slipping down the hall.

The door creaks open, "Steve? You okay?"

Hastily, he wipes his eyes and snaps, "I'm fine."

"What's going on?" Clint probes.

Still not staring at the wall, he replies, "Nothing Clint, will you just leave?"

He sighs, "Okay Steve, just... please don't do anything without thinking it through." And shortly thereafter, he does leave, returning to his seat.

Natasha's eyes question him thoroughly, "So?"

Clint just shakes his head, "I don't know… give him some time."

After a long silence Wanda says, "I'm going to talk to him."

Natasha starts to protest, but Bruce covers her hand with his, "Let her try."

When Steve's door opens for the second time, he doesn't look away from the soft brown eyes that meet his. Immediately she recognizes the hurt in his face, and quietly steps into the room, sitting on the bed. Steve is sitting cross-legged, his eyes trained back on his lap as she eases down in front of him.

"Steve," he looks up, "what happened?"

He opens his mouth, but then closes it, his jaw trembling. Gently, she reaches out and pulls him into a tight embrace, he rests his head on her shoulder, and lets himself cry. She holds him, still, strong, and she starts to feel his restless hands running up and down her back.

He swallows hard. "It's Peggy."

She pulls back, "No… is- is she-?"

Steve gnaws on his lip for a moment, "She's gone, Wanda. Peggy's dead," he says, his voice cracking, and he falls against her weakly, sobbing into her chest, her hands run into his hair,and his muscles start to relax. She holds him carefully, still not making a noise. And slowly, he starts to lay down, and she guides his head to her lap.

Just as he's fallen asleep the door drifts open again, and Wanda looks up to see the concerned look on Clint's face and draws her finger to her lips. His eyes float from her face, to Steve's, then back to hers. He nods, then steps inside, dropping into the chair by Steve's bed. A few minutes later, Natasha slips into the room, and sits on the bed, between Steve and the wall, and places her hand on his, without causing him to so much as stir.

Some more silence, and then comes Tony, who perches on the outside corner of the bed, near his friend's feet, followed by Bruce, who joins Natasha at Steve's side, and then Thor, who sits down quite timidly across from Tony, and they all just sort of sit there, looking at him. Eventually, Clint moves forward to sit on the outside edge, always having Steve's back.

Then, after what feels like an eternity, they all tense at the sound of a quiet whimper, before realizing that it's him. Steve inhales sharply, and opens his eyes a little, as soon as he does he sees the worry in all of their faces, he sees the sadness, and all at once it overwhelms him, because at that moment, he remembers what's happened.

And before he can think to stop it, the tears return to his eyes, and the pain returns to his stomach and head, the tightness once again fills his chest, and the sobs start to shake his body again, and he buries his head back into the solace of Wanda's lap, as if to hide from the circumstances and from the caring people in his bedroom.

But slowly, he starts to feel the hands of comfort all over his body, Clint, carefully rubbing Steve's neck and upper back, Thor's reassuring grip on his knee, Bruce's thoughtful palm resting on his arm, Tony's fingers brushing his side, Natasha's hand, squeezing his own so tightly, and all the while, Wanda's gentle, affectionate fingers running through his hair.

And he breaks, letting Natasha and Wanda repeatedly wipe the numerous tears off of his face, letting his muscles relax and his pain show, and slowly, they all are able to figure out what happened, and they keep holding him, making sure he's alright. Soothing him back to sleep, and by the middle of the night, Steve is peacefully sleeping, and everyone is tired, but no one wants to be the first to leave him.

So gradually, they all begin to drift off, starting with Bruce, who keeps a pretty regular sleep schedule, followed by Natasha, who would've been less sleepy without Bruce leaning against her, all warm and heavy. Thor leans against the wall, as does Wanda, and Tony, with less options leans forward against Steve's legs. Last to give in is Clint, who decides to just go ahead and lay down next to Steve, still keeping and hand on his back.

Every so often one of them wakes up for a moment, looks around, and then decides to go back to sleep, readjusting slightly. It winds up being the best sleep any of them have gotten in weeks, except for Clint, who always sleeps best next to his wife.

When the morning does come, Tony is the first to leave, a little embarrassed, with Thor close behind him. When Bruce re-enters consciousness after an exact eight hours, he decides that the sooner Steve gets some time to himself, the better, and lets himself out. Natasha wakes up next, but keeps Steve's hand folded through hers until Clint wakes up.

And through a few facial expressions the two of them elect to leave him with Wanda. So when Steve opens his puffy eyes, the only thing he sees is Wanda's kind smile, and he feels the ache in his back from the tenseness of the previous night, and he again feels her fingers, drifting across his scalp, easing his frantic mind, calming him.

Quietly, she begins to talk to him, lulling him back to rest with that beautiful, soft voice. Simple words of comfort falling from her lips as she studies the complex, blue irises that stare up at her, shining, filled with pain. And he turns so that he can fully feel her embrace, and her hands begin to slide downward, massaging his neck and shoulders and back.

And he cries some more, and she just keeps holding him, not thinking any less of him. And he comes to the conclusion that he could not have had anyone better to be with him through that awful night, and in the end, no matter what he says or how mortified he felt at the time, he's glad that they refused to leave him alone.


End file.
